Kigali, Rwanda: The Best Family

 

Our guide, Nyanja, set up a visit to a group that call themselves “The Best Family”.  They are an independent ministry group started by a few remarkable Rwandan young adults who provide education, medical needs, and food for a variety of Rwandan children.  Some of the children are orphans, some live with a parent, some are street kids, but all are in poverty and need.

 

When we arrived at their “home”, which was a schoolhouse they are using while regular school is out for the summer, we were greeted by the administrator Jean Claude.  Our gang of 13 unpacked from the bus and started to grab our usual bag of toys, shoes, clothes, and other items to give away.  Jean Claude stopped us in our tracks and said we can leave them for now, but first he wanted to meet with us.  He wished us to gather with him, the small staff he works with, and all of the children before we did anything else.

 

 

We were ushered into a small, dark and dusty school room filled with community desks; which we shared with the children, who ranged from kindergarten to college age.  They were very well behaved kids and it was clear that Jean Claude and the other leaders were much respected.  If only schools in the U.S. were this disciplined!

 

After some words from Jean Claude it became clear to us that this was a meeting and they were setting the tone.  They wanted to talk with us and ask questions.  They even wanted to pray for us before we had a chance to pray for them.  Nyanja interpreted between our groups as they asked questions.  Not the expected questions you would normally receive from children and young adults.

 

My favorite inquiry was from a small boy around eight or nine years old.  The boy stood up at his seat and said that they see people from the U.S. and other places that come to visit them, play with them, and offer help to them.  But when the groups go home they never hear form them again.  He said, “What will you do to help us when you go back home?”

 

I wanted to stand up and cheer this little guy with such a mature and relevant question!  A question any of these people probably often wonder about.  A question we need to ask ourselves.

 

What will we do after seeing all of this?  How will we help after being impacted so strongly by such suffering, poverty, disease, and injustice?  How will we help after committing to getting our hands dirty?  Will we remember the faces, names, places, and stories?  Or will we wash our hands of the whole thing?

 

It was like a message from God Himself.  What will YOU do when you leave here?  Will you forget ME?  Will you DO anything beyond talking about what an amazing trip you had in Africa?   For whenever you have seen one of these who are overlooked and ignored, that was ME!

 

So, in response to the boy’s question we asked “What do you want us to do when we return?”

 

The reply from the group leaders was essentially – Do not forget them and help them continue and grow this group however we can with whatever influence we can.  They need further organization, funding, publicity, and supplies.  The Best Family eventually wants to allow people to “adopt” a child in their family through monthly contributions and personal correspondence, in much the same way as Compassion International operates.  So they need to get a solid foundation underneath them and become more legitimate in the eyes of the charitable community.

 

We are making initial steps, and with God’s grace, we can somehow make a difference.  Jean Claude and his small team are making huge sacrifices to provide for these kids and help them discover hope and a successful future.

 

 

Following the heaviness of the meeting, we retrieved the goody bags and played with all the kids in the school yard (dirt actually).  Everything was rolling at once – face painting, puppets, cameras, jump ropes, stickers, volleyball, and soccer.  I kicked the soccer ball around with one, then two, and suddenly 10 kids.  One of the boys asked me my name and I told him.  Within 5 minutes there were 30 kids all calling my name when I would get the ball.  “Mikel, Mikel, Mikel!!” in their Rwandan accents.  It was made me smile, but also caused me to think as I watched these little football players show me up.  So many children calling my name at once, so many here and at other places we have visited need the same type of help and love.  How on earth can I even make a difference with so many voices calling out? 

 

That is where we can get stuck.  It paralyses us – the overwhelming scope of it all.  But one thing I am learning more about is that we just have to move forward and do SOMETHING.  Anything to directly help a group, organization, or individual child or family.  That is our mission – our responsibility – as Christians, citizens, and human beings.  That is how we can be part of this Best Family.

 

Kigali Rwanda, July 12

Today we visited the Mother Teresa Orphanage.

 

One of the first stops was the nursery. Now, I have never been a person that babies seem to dig.  But as I’ve mentioned before, this is a different scenario. These kids and babies crave attention. I picked up one little baby who was sitting up in a big crib among 3 or 4 other children. I think the hardest thing to do in a situation like this is to decide who you are going to hold first. It’s overwhelming.  There’s all these little faces with pleading eyes and arms outstretched toward you. 

  

So I just hoisted one of them on out, a little boy, probably 7 months or so. I was almost shocked how he clung to me. Like a death grip. (This is not a typical baby reaction I get from other people’s kids in the states!)  At one point I tried to put him down and hold another, but the little guy was having none of it. So we walked around together to visit other cribs. 

   

Now here comes the rough part…it was time to go. The sweet nun wanted us to move on to the older children.  I tried again to put him back in the crib, but he had clenched his little hand around my St. Christopher neckace. It took Mike to pry off his little fingers one by one. Then I pulled him away from me and sat him down next to his other buddies in the crib. And wow, talk about a scream. The little guys pulled himself up against the railing and wailed, bouncing up and down and reaching his arms out to me.  

 

Yep, this is when I lost it. You just have to leave the room, you know. So I stepped out in the hall and let the tears well up for a minute or so. I had to cry in hallway for both of us really. For him,  the need to be held and loved. And for me, the desire to have a child of my own so badly. And there’s so many of them here, right here! And I have to leave them all! 

 

But you pull yourself together and move on. Well not really, you never move on from something like that. It stays with you and brings you to tears when you think about it. You don’t really move on, you don’t forget.  His face and his arms extended…another images, another feelings, another sound, burned into your memory forever.

 

 

After Mother Teresa’s, we left for lunch at Nyanja’s house. I’ll let Mike take over from here. Mike had an interesting experience with a few happy and unhappy new shoe recipients.

 

And then we moved on to visit The Best Family…

  

July 11: Kigali, Rwanda

Today we flew to Kigali, Rwanda. The first place we visited was the Genocide Memorial. How strange and surreal to stare out over these mass graves. It is a beautiful place now, with fountains and endless gardens. So it is hard to imagine the hell spot that it was 14 years ago.

 

And how strange it feels to sit next to our guide Nyanja and our cab driver, on park benches outside the memorial museum…2 people who survived the genocide. They were kids…9, 10, or 11 at the time. Nyanja was one of the few who was fortunate enough to be rescued by the UN. The cab driver, I am not sure of his story. But neither of them could go inside the memorial. It is too much; you can see it in their eyes. Our driver, sitting on that bench, just staring ahead with blank wet eyes…quiet. Eventually he got up, leaving us, making his way back to the van.

 

I felt severe compassion and extreme embarrassment at the same time, because I knew I was on their holy ground.  Because I could not begin to comprehend what they had gone through. I was humbled in their presence. I had just observed a museum that told a story on plaques and photos and videos. But they had lived the stories. They had lived the horrifying images. Hacked to death with machetes, tortured, raped, eyes gauged, bludgeoned, shot, smashed against the wall, stoned…this was how they died. Even the children, even the babies and toddlers. And it makes you angry and confused. Why would God let this happen? Where was God during those months in 1994?

 

Nyanja even found her uncle’s photo in a book that Fal had bought in the gift store. I felt unworthy and foreign, even though I tried so hard to be respectful and quiet. I could not help but wonder if they were thinking, “You have no idea what I have seen.”

 

At night we went to Nyanja’s mother’s home for dinner. Amazing food, amazing hospitality. Her mother was released from prison not long ago, having been wrongfully accused in the aftermath of the genocide. Then there was a friend of Nyanja’s, Kiki, her best friend. He was 11 during the genocide, and he hid in Kigali for 3 months so he would not be killed. It was amazing to be in this house, eating dinner. Again, you feel humbled in their presence.

 

As Americans, we remember where we were on 9/11…the OKC bombing…Columbine…the list goes on. Do you remember what you were doing when you first heard the news? Do you remember watching the horror unfold on TV?  In Rwanda, it is, “Where were you during the genocide when 800,000 Rwandese were murdered in 3 months? How did you survive? Do you have any family left?” 

 

How can they, how can we, ever possibly understand why any of these things happen?

July 10, Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Today was much lighter. We visited Hannah’s Hope, a transition home for All God’s Children, a US adoption agency in Oregon. Almaz is the director, a kind and great lady. Probably 50-60 kids in the home, from babies to early teens…kids that are ready to be adopted soon or already have families waiting on them.

 

You’ve never seen prettier children, prettier babies. I held one sweet 3 month old. She had the most perfect caramel skin and coating of long black lashes. Her name in English meant sunshine. I find it funny that this was the longest I have had held a baby and it not cry. I fed her, burped her..she was all smiles and gurgles…an uncommon reaction I typically get from babies. Here at home, babies usually cry within 15 seconds of my holding them!

 

Then there was the intense artist. She was 4. Such a serious, but still sweet, kid. I started drawing pictures for 4 or 5 little girls to color.  She colored for a minute on the ground then you saw her little mind at work, looking around, then grabbing her page and moving to a more suitable coloring environment at a proper table. She’s a thinker, I like that. She was the only one of the girls that grasped the whole coloring concept and stayed within the lines, quite well for a 4 year old. I sat with her and we continued the routine for some time by ourselves, I drew a picture and she colored. I drew another and she colored and so on.. The games going on 6 feet away did not deter her. Don’t mess with her, she’s busy intently coloring. And that was “the artist.”  A bit like me at that age…now even. Not into the goofy games and songs and dancing. She likes to color. And she is good at it. Leave her alone…she’s busy and has plans. :-) 

 

(Interesting update here. After we returned home, I found that “the artist” was going home with her new family in  10 days or so. Maria, one of the girls on our mission team, sent me the blog of this adoptive family. Given the age photos, and the fact Almaz said she was going home soon, I know that “the artist” is that little girl. Even as I type, her new family in now in Addis with her, hopefully on a plane back home soon. I am so happy that she’s been adopted and feel privileged to have spent time with her, coloring outside one sunny afternoon 2 weeks ago.)

 

After Hannah’s Hope, we took off to the countryside. About an hour ride outside of Addis we came to a small village of rolling green fields and hillsides, mountains in the distance. There’s a first time for everything. I can now say that I’ve raced donkeys across Ethiopian farmland. The afternoon was mass chaos really. Led by a group of locals and our guides, we hiked out into a field, crossed a stream, and jumped on donkeys bareback.  Who does this and why? We did, and I’m still not sure why. But it was loads of fun. The best moments were with the local farm kids, men and women, who came out in full force to watch the crazy Americans ride their donkeys bare- back. But the hit of the afternoon was our camera. It was raining lightly, and Mike and I were the only ones who happened to bring a camera to the field. I’m so glad we did. These people love taking photos. And their giggles and laughter still echo in my ears.

 

You forget they don’t experience this type of thing we all know so well. Everyone was enthralled by the camera, 15-20 people gathering around you in a tight circle, laughing contagiously when we showed them their images on the tiny screen. What an amazing experience this afternoon–the imagery is burned into my mind. These people, the lush green grass, big smiles, and soft rain misting down…

Journal Entries from Ethiopia: July 9th, Addis Ababa.

Day One

July 9, 2008

Today we visited AHope Childrens Home. HIV and AIDS orphans. Just normal kids… laughing, shouting, running, jumping. And they love facepaint. They’re crazy about it. Break out the colors and they will charge you in a full stampede. I painted dozens of faces, assisted by 2 older girls, clearly the ‘moms’ over the others.  I wish I could remember the names of these 2 confident outspoken little women. They spoke perfect English and would translate as each child came up and made their request…a cat, a flower, flames of fire, rainbows, lions, fish…For two hours I sat inches from their faces, making constant brushstroke after brushstroke. I don’t know why it didn’t hit me until nearly leaving that all these kids had HIV or AIDS. Maybe it was because they seemed like normal kids, laughing and playing. But the reality is most of these kids are slowly dying.  

Finally, we had wrapped up games and painting. We stepped into their bedrooms with few of the girls following behind. They showed us their beds, their clothes, proud of all their things among the metal bunk beds and the tattered sheets. Then it was time to go and we headed back out toward the gate.  

Marta, who seemed about 6 or so, asked me in an almost demanding tone, “Will you be back?” Back tonight, back tomorrow, back to paint faces again I suppose.  I replied “I hope so!”  I looked her face over and didn’t see any paint.  I asked her, “Didn’t I paint you? Did I miss you?”  Marta rolled up her sleeve to remind me that I had painted her upper arm. A heart with wings. I painted her a heart with wings, at her request.  And as I lay here tonight, I know miracles are most definitely possible. Marta could be miraculously healed of her disease. But it is a harsh reality that perhaps Marta won’t be there the next time, the next time I might ever make it back. No Marta, this might be it.  I think of her heart with wings that will one day fly home. I may not see you here again Marta, I may not be back here….but I will definitely see you up there.

And this was my first day in Addis.

Coming Home from the Real World

Tomorrow we will depart for home.  Obviously we haven’t had any opportunity to update this blog in anything that resembles real time, but we will begin catching you up when we return and settle back in.  It is difficult to know how to put it all into words, yet we will do the best we can.

Today was the first day in two weeks I have seen any news.  I have not watched TV, read a newspaper, or surfed the net at all.  Other than scanning for important emails, I have little idea of what is going on in the world of news and events.  And I am one who likes to be aware of things, but to be honest, I find myself in a better place not knowing what’s happening.

I don’t want to hear anything about Obama, McCain, or the Presidential election.  I could care less what ‘disastrous peril’ or entertainment the media outlets are peddling as genuine news.  I have no desire for a radio since my ipod has been keeping me good company.

Certainly I want to be aware of what is real and is truly going on that impacts me and my loved ones, but this trip has not been about me at all.  It hasn’t been about what the world thinks is important or what the media wants me to believe is imperative.  That has been refreshing.

The truth and reality is what we witnessed and experienced in Ethiopia and Rwanda.  This is what’s really going on.  I am thankful to have put my hands on reality for a change.

Greetings from Rwanda!

We are six days into our trip and this is the first time we’ve had an opportunity to get online.  It has been literally non stop since landing in Ethiopia.  So much to share with everyone.  Amazing stories, sights, emotions, and experiences.  Since there is barely enough time to send an email to family and post a quick update here, Amy and I will most likely update day by day when we return next week. 

If we have a longer opportunity to communicate from Rwanda or when we return to Ethiopia, we will.

Thank you for checking in and blessings to all…..

Love,

Mike & Amy

Where the Streets Have No Name

I’ve always wanted to go on a mission trip of some sort, but I never knew just where I wanted to journey.  I hoped to go somewhere that resonated within me.  I have supported charities and groups that make a significant difference in this world, but I felt personally divided in different directions about getting more involved.  So many worthy causes and so much suffering in the world…..where could I even begin to make an impact?

I’m not sure exactly when I knew I wanted to go to Africa, but I am aware of those mostly repsonsible:  Our church - Church of the Redeemer, which is a mission congregation of the Anglican Province of Rwanda, Scott Roley from Christ Community Church in Franklin, my friend Bobby Jackson, the child advocacy group Compassion International, and most of all, Bono from U2.

Bono communicated the tragedy of Africa in such a way that I no longer viewed it as some unreachable place at the mercies of corrupt governments or dictatorships.  I started to see it as a cause of our lifetime.  Poverty and suffering that could not be ignored if we called ourselves Christians. 

I see Bono as modern day prophet within his authentic Christianity.  He manages to bring together divided people of religion, race, political persuasion, government types, and interest groups to be of one mission and purpose.  It’s quite astounding really.  He, along with my other influences, helped me find that resonation to go forward to a specific place and serve.

Bono Quotes

 

“But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths, all ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and the poor. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.”

“The fact is that this generation — yours, my generation … we’re the first generation that can look at poverty and disease, look across the ocean to Africa and say with a straight face, we can be the first to end this sort of stupid extreme poverty, where in the world of plenty, a child can die for lack of food in it’s belly.”

“Look at what happened in Southeast Asia with the Tsunami. 150,000 lives lost to the greatest misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature.” Well, in Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe.”

“At a certain point, I just felt, you know, God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action.”

“Imagine if a third of the kids at your local primary school were AIDS orphans. That’s a reality in Africa where the parents of 13 million children have been killed by AIDS.”

“There is a continent - Africa - being consumed by flames.  I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did or did not to put the fire out in Africa.  History, like God, is watching what we do.”

“I genuinely see myself as a traveling salesman. I think that’s what I do. I sell songs door-to-door on tour. I sell ideas like debt relief, and like all salesmen, I’m a bit of an opportunist and I see Africa as great opportunity. And I don’t just mean this in terms of doing business with Africa for America or Europe, which I do. I mean it’s an opportunity for us in the West to show our values, because a lot people are not sure we have any — to show what we are made of, to see a continent in crisis and demonstrate what we can do.”

“Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Jesus says that [Luke 6:30]. “Righteousness is this: that one should… give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for the emancipation of the captives.”  The Jewish Scripture says that. It’s Isaiah 58 [verses 7-8] again. It’s a very powerful incentive: “The Lord will watch your back.” Sounds like a good deal to me, especially right now…”

“Every era has its defining struggle and the fate of Africa is one of ours. It’s not the only one, but in the history books it’s easily going to make the top five, what we did or what we did not do. It’s a proving ground, as I said earlier, for the idea of equality. But whether it’s this or something else, I hope you’ll pick a fight and get in it.”

 

New Wine

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:17

This trip will require new wineskins.

We can’t dream what to expect and we don’t even begin to think we have it all figured out.  If we take used wineskins full of our own Americanized church and Christian experience, they will surely burst.  What we have and what we think we know are not sufficient.  God, the continent of Africa, and the people of Ethiopia and Rwanda must be approached with a fresh wineskin of an open heart and spirit.

With God’s mercy we will all serve and care deeply for those who are brought into our path and with God’s grace they will undoubtedly fill up our new skins to overflowing.  Our old skins can’t handle it and wouldn’t allow us to bring home, preserve, and pour out all that we need to.

It may require a whole re-invention of self to carry home a new perspective of God and His Kingdom. 

All Shot Up

We are walking vaccines now.  Within the last month Amy and I have received vaccinations in preparation for our trip.  Check out the list that appears on our International Certificate of Vaccination:

• Polio
• Typhoid
• Meningitis
• Yellow Fever
• MMR Booster (measles, mumps, rubella)
• Hepatitis A & B
• Tetanus
• and we must take a malaria preventative pill each day we are in Africa

And our arms have become so numb we are planning to WILLINGLY get juiced up with B-12 before we go.  What’s another needle, right?

 

Can I Really Do This?

I’m a detailed logistics kind of person, so it seems my main focus for the last 3 weeks has been physically preparing for this trip.  I’ve shopped for orphanage gifts, made emergency contact lists, bought a global phone, got all 7 vaccinations, stocked up on at least a dozen of these shrink-wrapped tiny washcloths that expand full size once placed under water. (seriously, how convenient is that?!).  My first aid kit purchases alone kept CVS in business last week.  I am physically prepared. My suitcase will rock.

 

But spiritual preparation is another story.  I have NO idea how I’m going to do anything on this trip! It’s completely out of my comfort zone.  I have never been one to know how to deal with sick people, with beggars, with large groups of children, with striking up conversations with people I don’t know, with praying over people, the list goes on.  It’s all very intimidating to me. I’d rather hide in the corner and stick to what I know I’m good at.  SO much easier.

 

So.  I’m going to have to totally rely on God to get me through ALL of this, and for Him to use me through my actions and through my words.  If I don’t rely on Him and try to do this all myself, I will most definitely mess it up.

 

This all reminds me of the insecurities of Moses and the countless others in the Old Testament who did not feel up to par to handle a calling God put on their lives.  Moses questioned his ability to lead the people, was afraid, intimidated, lacked self confidence; so much that his brother Aaron was appointed by God to do his speaking if need be.  I’m not comparing this trip or myself to Moses by any means!  But it is a familiar feeling in that I don’t think I’m talented enough, godly-enough, spiritually-inclined enough, etc. to be ‘qualified’ to be on this trip. Will I just be in the way?  Aren’t these mission trip things reserved for people who know all the perfect things to say, and have a way with the sick and elderly, or have been a camp counselor for like 15 years, and teach Sunday school to children that adore them? :-) 

 

Seriously, thank goodness for the people in Scripture that God chose to do His will, and the fact they weren’t perfect either.  At least it shows it’s not a requirement to be an expert on the things you will encounter while answering a call that God has placed on your heart.  And I take comfort in that when I think about this trip.     -Amy

 

WE GO

 

When telling others about this exciting journey to Africa, I hesitate to even use the words “mission trip”.  It is true we go with intention, but not for our own purposes.  We go because we feel compelled to go, but to what conclusion we cannot foresee. 

We have no agenda in Africa.  We pray that God will use us to make a difference in the lives of those that suffer, in particular the children.  We are willing subjects to God’s spirit.  Not the God of American culture, not the God of a particular denomination, not the God of CCM, and not the God I limit and reduce in my own mind.  But the GOD of this world and the universe.  He’s bigger than the holy boxes we often put Him in. 

I want to get out of the way and allow God to move.  That’s the only way love, grace, and compassion can arise.  It’s the only way signs, wonders, and miracles can happen.  And if that is just holding an AIDS orphan or bringing smiles to a street kid, then so be it.  If there is more, then Amen. 

We go into their countries as friends, brothers, and sisters.  Not as missionaries or rescuers.  We go with humble and open hearts and leave the redemption to Christ.  We may even find ourselves rescued along the way.    -Mike

Thank YOU!

Donations toward our trip are going great! We are nearly half way to our goal!

Thank you to all who have supported our trip financially. We are humbled by your generosity! And thanks to all who are spiritually supporting our trip by keeping us and our team in your prayers. We have been blown away by the love and support from our family and friends. Thank YOU!

ETHIOPIA INFORMATION

Ethiopia Information and History

Geography

 

Ethiopia is in east-central Africa, bordered on the west by the Sudan, the east by Somalia and Djibouti, the south by Kenya, and the northeast by Eritrea. It has several high mountains, the highest of which is Ras Dashan at 15,158 ft (4,620 m). The Blue Nile, or Abbai, rises in the northwest and flows in a great semicircle before entering the Sudan. Its chief reservoir, Lake Tana, lies in the northwest.

 

A Short History

Originally called Abyssinia, Ethiopia is sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest state, and its Solomonic dynasty claims descent from King Menelik I, traditionally believed to have been the son of the queen of Sheba and King Solomon. The current nation is a consolidation of smaller kingdoms that owed feudal allegiance to the Ethiopian emperor.

Its Red Sea ports were important to the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Christianity was brought to the region in A.D. 341, and a variant of it became Ethiopia’s state religion. Ancient Ethiopia reached its peak in the 5th century, then was isolated by the rise of Islam and weakened by feudal wars.

Modern Ethiopia emerged under Emperor Menelik II, who established its independence by routing an Italian invasion in 1896. He expanded Ethiopiaby conquest. Disorders that followed Menelik’s deathbrought his daughter to the throne in 1917, with his cousin, Tafari Makonnen, as regent and heir apparent. When the empress died in 1930, Tafari was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I.

HaileSelassie, called the “Lion of Judah,” outlawed slavery and tried to centralize his scattered realm, in which 70 languages were spoken. In 1931, he created a constitution, revised in 1955, that called for a parliament withan appointed senate, an elected chamber of deputies, and a system of courts. But basic power remained with the emperor.

Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia on Oct. 3, 1935, forcing Haile Selassie into exile in May 1936. Ethiopia was annexed to Eritrea, then an Italian colony, and to Italian Somaliland, forming Italian East Africa. In 1941, British troops routed the Italians, and Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa. In 1952, Eritrea was incorporated into Ethiopia.

On Sept. 12, 1974, Haile Selassie was deposed, the constitution suspended, and Ethiopia proclaimed a Socialist state under a collective military dictatorship called the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), also known as the Derg. U.S. aid stopped, and Cuban and Soviet aid began. Lt. Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam became head of state in 1977. During this period Ethiopia fought against Eritrean secessionists as well as Somali rebels, and the government fought against its own people in a campaign called the “red terror.” Thousands of political opponents were killed. Mengistu remained leader until 1991, when his greatest supporter, the Soviet Union, dismantled itself.

A group called the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front seized the capital in 1991, and in May a separatist guerrilla organization, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, took control of the province of Eritrea. The two groups agreed that Eritrea would have an internationally supervised referendum on independence. This election took place in April 1993 with almost unanimous support for Eritrean independence. Ethiopia accepted and recognized Eritrea as an independent state within a few days. Sixty-eight leaders of the former military government were put on trial in April 1996 on charges that included genocide and crimes against humanity.

Since Eritrea’s independence, Eritrea and Ethiopia had disagreed about the exact demarcation of their borders, and in May 1998 Eritrea initiated border clashes that developed into a full-scale war that left more than 80,000 dead and further destroyed both countries’ ailing economies. After a costly and bloody two-year war, a formal peace agreement was signed in Dec. 2000. The United Nations has provided more than 4,000 peacekeeping forces to patrol the buffer zone between the two nations. An international commission defined a new border between the two countries in April 2002. Ethiopia disputed the new border, escalating tensions between the two countries once again. In Dec. 2005, an international Court of Arbitration ruled that Eritrea had violated international law in attacking Ethiopia in the 1998 war.

In 2003, in an effort to solve its chronic shortage of food and to lessen its dependence on international aid, Ethiopia began relocating 2 million farmers from their parched highland homes to areas with more fertile soil in the western part of the country. The largest relocation program in African history, however, has turned into a disaster. The majority of those resettled are still unable to support themselves, and, most alarmingly, much of the fertile regions where the farmers have been resettled are rife with malaria.

In June 2006, an Islamist militia seized control of the capital of neighboring Somalia and established control in much of that country’s south. Ethiopia, which has clashed in the past with Somalia’s Islamists and considers them a threat to regional security, began amassing troops on Somalia’s border, in support of Somalia’s weak transitional government, led by President Abdullah. In mid-December, Ethiopia launched air strikes against the Islamists, and in a matter of days Ethiopian ground troops and Somali soldiers regained of Mogadishu. A week later most of the Islamists had been forced to flee the country. Ethiopia announced that its troops would remain in Somalia until stability was assured and a functional central government had been established. 

If you’d like to check out more information on Ethiopia go to Wikipedia or National Geographic.

A DAY IN ADDIS

Amanda, our mission trip leader, emailed us today with some details about the day when we’ll visit Kid’s Care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  We’ll be taking some of the older kids to the pool to swim. Many of them have never been swimming before in their lives. We’re each going to “sponsor” a child for the day, and might even have to teach them to swim.  What I find funny is I’m a horrible swimmer; I can tread water and have a ridiculous side stroke thing I do, and that’s about the range of my skill set.

Afterward, we’ll buy their lunch and icecream. Even icecream is a new experience to some of these children.  It’s hard to imagine that these kids have never been in pool or had scoop of icecream…things that are so common and second nature to kids in America.

 

SHOES!

So many street kids and orphans in Ethiopia go without shoes. My friend Chad Nikazy gave us 28 pairs of kids shoes to take on our trip!  These shoes were collected through his nonprofit charity, Triathletes for Hope.   Check out Chad’s website and the photos. www.triforhope.org.

Less Than One Month to Go!

I can’t believe in less than a month, we will be in Africa!

Mike and I finally completed our vaccinations. We each had 6 shots. Definitely not my favorite thing. Mike did well, but I struggled for a few days after–felt like I was getting a flu bug.  Fun stuff. But hey, at least I know I can go anywhere in the world without contracting typhoid fever or whatever else I’m immune to now.

Each night,  I try to do something to prepare for the trip, whether it’s reading a recommended book, or shopping for supplies, or making homemade coloring books for the orphans.

Our trip’s leader, Amanda Clark, gave us two books to read. If you have a heart for orphans, the AIDS crisis, etc., this book is a great quick read and will really open your eyes! I highly recommend it!

Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds  by Tom Davis

ABOUT OUR TRIP

Dear Friends & Family

This summer from July 7 to July 19, Mike and I will be going on a mission tip to Ethiopia and Rwanda to visit orphans. This is our first mission trip, and our first trip to Africa. For many years, Mike has had a heart for Africa and the AIDS crisis that has swept the continent, not to mention the other rampant disease and poverty that takes the lives of so many. We have always wanted to do more, but were never quite sure what that “more” would be. We both feel this mission opportunity was divinely presented to us, falling right in our laps in late April. Because we also have a heart for adoption, and plan to adopt in the future, we feel strongly called to this Africa mission trip to help orphans.  And we boldly ask for your love and support. 

There are over 143 MILLION orphans in the world. In Ethiopia and Rwanda alone there are over 6 million orphans. When you think of such things, it puts your own problems and trials into perspective.  While it will be daunting to be thrown out of our comfort zones, there is an aching need we both have to do something more meaningful and bigger than ourselves; to do something that brings hope to those who have little and to put actions to our Faith. Even if it’s just 15 minutes of painting a picture with a young girl, or playing soccer with a boy in the street… to know that we may have brought a little joy to an orphan’s life would be an amazing thing.  Everyone who has ever been on a mission trip tells us that we will be changed forever. They say we will be gloriously wrecked by the knowledge and experience that we gain on this trip.  They say when the both of us return home, we will have a burning in our heart to make more of a difference in this world, and a renewed passion, purpose and revival for our Christian walk.  We welcome the opportunity!

On this trip, our mission team of 12 we will be spending a couple of days in an HIV orphanage with children who have been diagnosed with HIV and have no hope of ever being adopted or having a family.  We will also be spending time at America World Adoption’s transitional home with the older children, taking them to the zoo or to swim. Things they’ve never done before.  Our group will be painting a mural on another orphanage’s nursery or schoolroom and playing soccer with the street kids who have been abandoned who live under tunnels or in the sewage system.  We will also visit a Mother Theresa home in Rwanda where hundreds of orphans and widows live.  Another orphanage we will visit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is one from a ministry called Kingdom Kids. We will help one day with the care and feeding of the babies in two or more orphanages. There’s much work and love to give out to even make a small dent in this orphan population.

Thank you for your love, support and faithfulness.  Let us know as well if we can bring some authentic Ethiopian coffee home to you!  May God richly bless you.

-Mike and Amy Severson

 

Africa Soon

We will be traveling to Africa soon on a mission trip to visit and help orphans in Ethiopia and Rwanda.  The trip will commence on July 7th, so please check back for regular updates as Amy and I prepare for the journey.